Saturday, October 31, 2009
Happy Halloween!
Nathan came over today and helped Grandma Lois frost cupcakes for Grandpa Merle's Cub Scout Group. They went to see a program at WSUV presented by the Bat Lady. She had a real bat. Now Nathan wants Grandpa Merle to make him a bat house!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Remembering Veterans' Day
November holidays remind me of the many blessings I have to feel grateful for. I love the brilliant colors of autumn from the reds, oranges, yellows and greens of the sugar maple trees to the vibrant rust and gold chrysanthemums my dad used to raise. I'm also thankful for red-white-and-blue, the stars and stripes of our nation;'s flag. It symbolizes all we hold precious and dear.
It was a Sunday evening when I came into the house from roller-skating. I was six years old and wondered why both of my parents were huddled up next to our big floor model Philco radio. They shushed me and we listened to President Franklin D, Roosevelt talking about the bombing of Pearl Harbor that morning. It meant our country was at war.
I recall the books of rationing stamps our family was allotted. They were for gasoline, rubber tires, sugar, meat and butter. When mom bought a pound of oleomargarine it came in a white block that had to be dumped into a big mixing bowl. Then mom would break open a capsule of dark yellow coloring and have to stir it a lot until it was evenly mixed to a yellow mass which we could put on our toast instead of butter.
Once or twice we had to practice air raids. We had to cover all our windows with black fabric or turn off all the lights. We sat in the dark until the all-clear siren sounded.
I remember walking down Browning Avenue, where we lived in Salt Lake, and noticing that several homes displayed a star on a dark blue background, either white for a living serviceman or gold for one who had died in the war.
Portland was a very busy city when we moved there. Many families had moved from the midwest to work in the shipyards. There was one in St. Johns, one on Swan Island and one or more in Vancouver. They lived in little defense homes that had been hurriedly constructed. All the buses going to the shipyards were filled to capacity, people standing shoulder to shoulder.
My Portsmouth Grade School became the most populated school in the state. We attended classes in shifts; either seven am to noon or one to five pm. We were on daylight saving time all year round, so I walked to school on dark, rainy mornings during the winter, but I wasn't afraid.
I collected newspapers and tin cans to help the war effort (for recycling), and bought a 10-cent Victory stamp each week. I pasted the stamps into a book and when it was filled I turned it in for a U.S. Savings bond.
We lived across from Swan Island up on the bluff which provided us with a perfect view for watching the ships being launched, usually about one a week. For daytime launches a string of brightly colored pennants was strung from the bow to the highest point in the middle of the ship and then back down to the stern. The night launches were decorated with colored lights, sort of like the outdoor Christmas lights of that time.
I remember hearing my dad tell how people of Portland were dancing in the streets and kissing complete strangers when the war was over. I knew it was almost over in June of 1945. I was given a new balloon-tired bicycle for my 10th birthday on June 4th. My parents said that the factories had stopped making war materials and had switched to peacetime manufacturing.
My dad was too old to be drafted inWorld War II but his brother Clifton was a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy, and my mom's brother, Ken, served in the Canadian Air Force. My husband was about to be drafted when he enlisted in the Army near the end of the Korean War, and my brother Jerry served in Vietnam. I am glad that my five sons have not had to serve in the military and I hope none of my grandsons have to either. But, if they do it should be for the right reasons--to protect our homes, families and freedoms.
As I lay down at night I give thanks that I live in a peaceful part of this world. I hope the people of our country will find ways this Veterans' Day to thank a military person for their service to our country, especially those in veterans hospitals who have sacrificed parts of themselves to protect all of us.
It was a Sunday evening when I came into the house from roller-skating. I was six years old and wondered why both of my parents were huddled up next to our big floor model Philco radio. They shushed me and we listened to President Franklin D, Roosevelt talking about the bombing of Pearl Harbor that morning. It meant our country was at war.
I recall the books of rationing stamps our family was allotted. They were for gasoline, rubber tires, sugar, meat and butter. When mom bought a pound of oleomargarine it came in a white block that had to be dumped into a big mixing bowl. Then mom would break open a capsule of dark yellow coloring and have to stir it a lot until it was evenly mixed to a yellow mass which we could put on our toast instead of butter.
Once or twice we had to practice air raids. We had to cover all our windows with black fabric or turn off all the lights. We sat in the dark until the all-clear siren sounded.
I remember walking down Browning Avenue, where we lived in Salt Lake, and noticing that several homes displayed a star on a dark blue background, either white for a living serviceman or gold for one who had died in the war.
Portland was a very busy city when we moved there. Many families had moved from the midwest to work in the shipyards. There was one in St. Johns, one on Swan Island and one or more in Vancouver. They lived in little defense homes that had been hurriedly constructed. All the buses going to the shipyards were filled to capacity, people standing shoulder to shoulder.
My Portsmouth Grade School became the most populated school in the state. We attended classes in shifts; either seven am to noon or one to five pm. We were on daylight saving time all year round, so I walked to school on dark, rainy mornings during the winter, but I wasn't afraid.
I collected newspapers and tin cans to help the war effort (for recycling), and bought a 10-cent Victory stamp each week. I pasted the stamps into a book and when it was filled I turned it in for a U.S. Savings bond.
We lived across from Swan Island up on the bluff which provided us with a perfect view for watching the ships being launched, usually about one a week. For daytime launches a string of brightly colored pennants was strung from the bow to the highest point in the middle of the ship and then back down to the stern. The night launches were decorated with colored lights, sort of like the outdoor Christmas lights of that time.
I remember hearing my dad tell how people of Portland were dancing in the streets and kissing complete strangers when the war was over. I knew it was almost over in June of 1945. I was given a new balloon-tired bicycle for my 10th birthday on June 4th. My parents said that the factories had stopped making war materials and had switched to peacetime manufacturing.
My dad was too old to be drafted inWorld War II but his brother Clifton was a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy, and my mom's brother, Ken, served in the Canadian Air Force. My husband was about to be drafted when he enlisted in the Army near the end of the Korean War, and my brother Jerry served in Vietnam. I am glad that my five sons have not had to serve in the military and I hope none of my grandsons have to either. But, if they do it should be for the right reasons--to protect our homes, families and freedoms.
As I lay down at night I give thanks that I live in a peaceful part of this world. I hope the people of our country will find ways this Veterans' Day to thank a military person for their service to our country, especially those in veterans hospitals who have sacrificed parts of themselves to protect all of us.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Ten Reasons Why ALL your family history/genealogy/temple work has not been "done." (even if you think Grandma or "Aunt Ellen" has done it all.
1 - More people keep dying. I began gathering my family when I was about 25 years old. In the many years since then, all the "old folks" are gone; those who were middle-aged are gone; and quite a few from my generation and younger have passed away. They did not have all their temple work done while they lived but some might want it done now.
2 - People get married. Some had spouses who died and some were divorced. When they remarry they bring a new line into their genealogy. You can't just add the new person. They have parents, siblings (who might have had more than one spouse) and some have children from a prior marriage. Also, their parents have siblings and in-laws who did not have a chance to accept the gospel in this life. Who will do their sealings if you don't?
3 - People continue having more children. Though these are still living, don't leave them off the family tree. Twenty years from now you may want to get some information from one of them. Stay in touch with the younger generation.
4 - Divorces happen. These spouses still need to be accounted for--and perhaps they too need temple work done. (You are not their judge).
5 - New databases are constantly being developed or added to. Some you may check out for finding relatives are: Ancestral File, New.FamilySearch, (old) IGI, National Archives, the Social Security Death Index, US Genweb project, county and state records and Ancestry.com's World Family Tree. You can find all kinds of vital statistics, newspaper archives, cemeteries, churches and societies that have been put records into searchable databases.
6 - Some sources have links other records. After I entered names into Ancestry's world tree it began finding those names in census records and other sources. I could then evaluate what it found and I could either accept the source or ignore it. This saved me a lot of time. I didn't have to order microfilms and search them page by page.
7 - Databases have links to others working on the same line. I have had several dead ends that weren't dead after all. Ancestry's world tree located people working on similar names who gave me bits of information to help my searches.
8 - Newspapers now have archives. You can locate obituaries that go back further than the current month. Some may charge a small fee but are worth it if you find the person you are searching for. These obituaries are a source of survivors and where they live. It may give the names of persons who predeceased the individual. Local genealogical societies also collect obits in the area they serve.
9 - Old genealogies contain errors. You may find you are working on the wrong branch of a family tree. If you learn this is true you will have another source of names that need to be researched and proved.
10 - You learn new facts at family gatherings. You may learn a new name, date or fact about a relative. If you are good at remembering, go off by yourself long enough to jot down that fact. After you are home working on your genealogy, add the information to your database and add its source. At the reunion you may learn that a relative goes by their middle name or a nickname. If that relative (or relative of a relative)
passes away you may know where they lived and be able to locate a local newspaper with the obituary in it.
Also add family stories as they make your history more interesting than just names and dates.
Genealogy is a fascinating life-long interest. Our leaders tell us that our own salvation stands in jeopardy if we neglect this work. Read Malachi 3:4-5 and ask yourself what kind of curse could the earth be smitten with??
If you have come across this blog in your web surfing then you should know that this "temple work" is performed by live persons as proxies for those who have passed way. Those in the Spirit World still have the right to accept the work or reject it. The ordinances from baptisms through endowments and sealings of families together for time and eternity are performed by those holding the Melchezidek Priesthood of God and holding proper authority to perform these ordinances. Any living person can qualify for these same ordinances For more information look up the website: http://www.lds.org/
2 - People get married. Some had spouses who died and some were divorced. When they remarry they bring a new line into their genealogy. You can't just add the new person. They have parents, siblings (who might have had more than one spouse) and some have children from a prior marriage. Also, their parents have siblings and in-laws who did not have a chance to accept the gospel in this life. Who will do their sealings if you don't?
3 - People continue having more children. Though these are still living, don't leave them off the family tree. Twenty years from now you may want to get some information from one of them. Stay in touch with the younger generation.
4 - Divorces happen. These spouses still need to be accounted for--and perhaps they too need temple work done. (You are not their judge).
5 - New databases are constantly being developed or added to. Some you may check out for finding relatives are: Ancestral File, New.FamilySearch, (old) IGI, National Archives, the Social Security Death Index, US Genweb project, county and state records and Ancestry.com's World Family Tree. You can find all kinds of vital statistics, newspaper archives, cemeteries, churches and societies that have been put records into searchable databases.
6 - Some sources have links other records. After I entered names into Ancestry's world tree it began finding those names in census records and other sources. I could then evaluate what it found and I could either accept the source or ignore it. This saved me a lot of time. I didn't have to order microfilms and search them page by page.
7 - Databases have links to others working on the same line. I have had several dead ends that weren't dead after all. Ancestry's world tree located people working on similar names who gave me bits of information to help my searches.
8 - Newspapers now have archives. You can locate obituaries that go back further than the current month. Some may charge a small fee but are worth it if you find the person you are searching for. These obituaries are a source of survivors and where they live. It may give the names of persons who predeceased the individual. Local genealogical societies also collect obits in the area they serve.
9 - Old genealogies contain errors. You may find you are working on the wrong branch of a family tree. If you learn this is true you will have another source of names that need to be researched and proved.
10 - You learn new facts at family gatherings. You may learn a new name, date or fact about a relative. If you are good at remembering, go off by yourself long enough to jot down that fact. After you are home working on your genealogy, add the information to your database and add its source. At the reunion you may learn that a relative goes by their middle name or a nickname. If that relative (or relative of a relative)
passes away you may know where they lived and be able to locate a local newspaper with the obituary in it.
Also add family stories as they make your history more interesting than just names and dates.
Genealogy is a fascinating life-long interest. Our leaders tell us that our own salvation stands in jeopardy if we neglect this work. Read Malachi 3:4-5 and ask yourself what kind of curse could the earth be smitten with??
If you have come across this blog in your web surfing then you should know that this "temple work" is performed by live persons as proxies for those who have passed way. Those in the Spirit World still have the right to accept the work or reject it. The ordinances from baptisms through endowments and sealings of families together for time and eternity are performed by those holding the Melchezidek Priesthood of God and holding proper authority to perform these ordinances. Any living person can qualify for these same ordinances For more information look up the website: http://www.lds.org/
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Columbus Day - 1962
It was just past five o'clock when I closed the office door and headed for my car. The October wind was blowing briskly. Little swirls of dust danced across the lawn and a big sheet of newspaper came blowing around the corner of the building. There was something exhilarating about the atmosphere. Overhead little puffy white clouds, perfectly spaced in formation, resembled white lines on the bias of a sky blue fabric. The sun would be setting soon. Its orange glow reached out from the west to tinge the edges of the cloud formations. The radio announcer warned that a hurricane strength windstorm was headed north through the Willamette Valley.
Five minutes later I pulled into my driveway. My husband and toddler sons were there to greet me,. "Better park up close to the house tonight," he advised." I immediately started preparing dinner and even thought it might be a good idea to heat a big pan of water.
Ben and Mark went down to their bedroom. They were definitely hyper! Mark tossed the little play table upside down on the floor while Ben threw in several sofa pillows and jumped in. Mark grabbed the converted table leg like a gear shift and they were varooming off on a big adventure. "I think we should open a couple of windows a crack to equalize the pressure," commented my husband as he headed for a bedroom.
Just as we were sitting down to eat dinner the lights went off. "What'll we do now?" asked Ben. We looked out of the dinette window and watched a small tree heaving at its roots, but it held. Our neighbor's trees were also straining at their roots. None were close enough to fall on our house so we didn't get too worried. We dined by candle light and I washed dishes by flashlight, glad I had heated that pan of water. My husband built a fire in the fireplace. Since we couldn't watch our favorite TV programs we spent the evening singing songs, telling stories and playing games until it was time for the boys to be in bed. Then we dashed out to the car so we could hear the storm report on the car radio. Wind gusts were clocked at 100 miles an hour! It was the storm that became known as The Columbus Day Storm.
Our lights came on about 6:00 a.m. because the line going to the hospital went past our street, but we didn't get phone service until 4:00 p.m. the next day. The day dawned as a beautiful crisp, clear day. A little dew sparkled across lawns strewn with fallen leaves and storm debris. We lived in the center of a horseshoe shaped drive, and big trees had fallen across the roadway on both sides of us. Chain saws could be heard in every direction as neighbors were helping neighbors to clean up, board up, or do whatever was necessary. As far as I recall, we were not afraid. We had experienced the Storm of the Century and lived to tell about it!
Five minutes later I pulled into my driveway. My husband and toddler sons were there to greet me,. "Better park up close to the house tonight," he advised." I immediately started preparing dinner and even thought it might be a good idea to heat a big pan of water.
Ben and Mark went down to their bedroom. They were definitely hyper! Mark tossed the little play table upside down on the floor while Ben threw in several sofa pillows and jumped in. Mark grabbed the converted table leg like a gear shift and they were varooming off on a big adventure. "I think we should open a couple of windows a crack to equalize the pressure," commented my husband as he headed for a bedroom.
Just as we were sitting down to eat dinner the lights went off. "What'll we do now?" asked Ben. We looked out of the dinette window and watched a small tree heaving at its roots, but it held. Our neighbor's trees were also straining at their roots. None were close enough to fall on our house so we didn't get too worried. We dined by candle light and I washed dishes by flashlight, glad I had heated that pan of water. My husband built a fire in the fireplace. Since we couldn't watch our favorite TV programs we spent the evening singing songs, telling stories and playing games until it was time for the boys to be in bed. Then we dashed out to the car so we could hear the storm report on the car radio. Wind gusts were clocked at 100 miles an hour! It was the storm that became known as The Columbus Day Storm.
Our lights came on about 6:00 a.m. because the line going to the hospital went past our street, but we didn't get phone service until 4:00 p.m. the next day. The day dawned as a beautiful crisp, clear day. A little dew sparkled across lawns strewn with fallen leaves and storm debris. We lived in the center of a horseshoe shaped drive, and big trees had fallen across the roadway on both sides of us. Chain saws could be heard in every direction as neighbors were helping neighbors to clean up, board up, or do whatever was necessary. As far as I recall, we were not afraid. We had experienced the Storm of the Century and lived to tell about it!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
FOREVER FRIENDS
What makes a true friend? Loyalty? Shared experiences? Reciprocity? Dependability? Similar interests? Comfort in times of trial? Acceptance of whowe are, as we are? Probably all of them.
My first real friend was Ilene. She was three and I was five. She didn't have any close siblings either. We played school and I was the teacher. I learned what reading really was with our matching Uncle Wiggly books. Ilene had a health problem--Juvenile Diabetes. I watched her mom make tests in test tubes. She grew up, got married and died in childbirth at age 21. The baby was lost too. I hope I can meet her again in the Spirit world!
When I was nine my parents moved to Portland. My best friend was Dolores. We played dressup and shared our fantasies about when we grew up. Later, we entered high school and she was pledged to a social club that did not pledge me. Later I saw that the kids Dolores was running around with had reputations for smoking, drinking and "necking." It was a difficult choice for me to change friends but I knew I had to. My new friend, Sandra, became the rose princess in our senior uyear. I lost touch with Sandra but saw Dolores several years later. She said that whenever she heard the Tabernacle Choir sing that she remembered me. Maybe I left a good impression on her.
My next close friend was a boyfriend--Dean. We went steady for a year when we attended high school. I was 16 at the time. I was a city kid who had just moved to a farm and was isolated from most of the kids I knew in school. Dean had lived at a childrens' home for a couple of years after his parents were divorced. We were just good friends who did social things together. When I was about 20 he came home on leave from the Navy and asked me to marry him. Remembering finding a beer can in his glove compartment one time, and that most of my uncles drank beer (you can't change a person if they don't want to change) , I told him he wasn't the person I wanted to be the father of my children and turned him down. Many years later I got a brief phone call from him from a phone booth. He said he just wanted to tell me that I was "there" for him when he needed it. I told him that he was "there" for me when I needed it too.
Shirley became my best friend after I went through a divorce. She too was divorced wiith children. We both worked at a Safeway office in Portland. We shared lunches and breaks, took walks and had long talks together. We attended church singles activities together. She was there when I first met Merle. She was remarried about six months after I was remarried. About ten years later Shirley got ovarian cancer and died a year later. I wish I could tell her how much she was "there" for me.
My cousin, Pat is a friend I've known most of my life. Whenever we get together we can pick up a conversation just where we left off the last time we were together. We have had many similar life experiences. She even lived with my parents after I got married. Not many of our cousins have been on church missions, but my husband and I served in Toronto and she went to Russia as a widow. We are both active in church and have attended temples together -- both Jordan River and Portland. We still write to each other occasionally.
My last best forever friend was Gayla, who became the world's best visiting teacher. She made sure I always had a ride to our evening Relief Society meetings. She would pick me up at the mission office and go to a park on some of my lunch breaks. Once we watched a baby bird learning to fly as we sat at an outdoor table eating ice cream. She took me and two other women to a senior citizen musical revue that was very enjoyable. The year after we returned to our home, she and her husband moved from Toronto to Alberta--which was not far from where some of my relatives lived. The next year we drove up there and spent a lovely evening with Gayla, her husband Gordon, and another missionary couple we knew in Toronto. By the next year we got word that Gayla was suffering from cancer and later got a card telling us she had passed away. That makes three of my forever friends who have gone through the veil, whom I look forward to meeting again.
That brings me back to my question, What makes a true friend? A song from the past comes to mind. "How deep is the ocean? How high is the sky? How far would I travel to be where you are? How far is the journey from here to a star? And if I ever lost you how much would I cry? How deep is the ocean? How high is the sky?
There is one more Friend I am striving to be like--Jesus Christ. He is the model for all friendships. He said, "If you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me."
My first real friend was Ilene. She was three and I was five. She didn't have any close siblings either. We played school and I was the teacher. I learned what reading really was with our matching Uncle Wiggly books. Ilene had a health problem--Juvenile Diabetes. I watched her mom make tests in test tubes. She grew up, got married and died in childbirth at age 21. The baby was lost too. I hope I can meet her again in the Spirit world!
When I was nine my parents moved to Portland. My best friend was Dolores. We played dressup and shared our fantasies about when we grew up. Later, we entered high school and she was pledged to a social club that did not pledge me. Later I saw that the kids Dolores was running around with had reputations for smoking, drinking and "necking." It was a difficult choice for me to change friends but I knew I had to. My new friend, Sandra, became the rose princess in our senior uyear. I lost touch with Sandra but saw Dolores several years later. She said that whenever she heard the Tabernacle Choir sing that she remembered me. Maybe I left a good impression on her.
My next close friend was a boyfriend--Dean. We went steady for a year when we attended high school. I was 16 at the time. I was a city kid who had just moved to a farm and was isolated from most of the kids I knew in school. Dean had lived at a childrens' home for a couple of years after his parents were divorced. We were just good friends who did social things together. When I was about 20 he came home on leave from the Navy and asked me to marry him. Remembering finding a beer can in his glove compartment one time, and that most of my uncles drank beer (you can't change a person if they don't want to change) , I told him he wasn't the person I wanted to be the father of my children and turned him down. Many years later I got a brief phone call from him from a phone booth. He said he just wanted to tell me that I was "there" for him when he needed it. I told him that he was "there" for me when I needed it too.
Shirley became my best friend after I went through a divorce. She too was divorced wiith children. We both worked at a Safeway office in Portland. We shared lunches and breaks, took walks and had long talks together. We attended church singles activities together. She was there when I first met Merle. She was remarried about six months after I was remarried. About ten years later Shirley got ovarian cancer and died a year later. I wish I could tell her how much she was "there" for me.
My cousin, Pat is a friend I've known most of my life. Whenever we get together we can pick up a conversation just where we left off the last time we were together. We have had many similar life experiences. She even lived with my parents after I got married. Not many of our cousins have been on church missions, but my husband and I served in Toronto and she went to Russia as a widow. We are both active in church and have attended temples together -- both Jordan River and Portland. We still write to each other occasionally.
My last best forever friend was Gayla, who became the world's best visiting teacher. She made sure I always had a ride to our evening Relief Society meetings. She would pick me up at the mission office and go to a park on some of my lunch breaks. Once we watched a baby bird learning to fly as we sat at an outdoor table eating ice cream. She took me and two other women to a senior citizen musical revue that was very enjoyable. The year after we returned to our home, she and her husband moved from Toronto to Alberta--which was not far from where some of my relatives lived. The next year we drove up there and spent a lovely evening with Gayla, her husband Gordon, and another missionary couple we knew in Toronto. By the next year we got word that Gayla was suffering from cancer and later got a card telling us she had passed away. That makes three of my forever friends who have gone through the veil, whom I look forward to meeting again.
That brings me back to my question, What makes a true friend? A song from the past comes to mind. "How deep is the ocean? How high is the sky? How far would I travel to be where you are? How far is the journey from here to a star? And if I ever lost you how much would I cry? How deep is the ocean? How high is the sky?
There is one more Friend I am striving to be like--Jesus Christ. He is the model for all friendships. He said, "If you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me."
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